We analyse the performance of budgetary and growth forecasts of all stability and convergence programmes submitted by EU member states over the last decade. Differences emerge for the bias in budgetary projections across countries. As a second step we explore whether economic, political and...

In 2005 the current account deficit attained 7½% of GDP, its worst position of the last 25 years, and in 2006 it might reach 8½%. Traditionally, Spain’s trade deficit has been partially offset by surpluses in other external balances, particularly service trade, as a result of large net...

The document describes the evolution of intra-EU current account asymmetries. Some experimental results obtained using a modelling approach to derive asymmetry-free European aggregates are presented. The results are not usable at the national (Member State) level and they will not eliminate...

Overall, household debt levels have risen sharply over the past decades in EU Member States. While certain levels of household debts can be beneficial, they can become problematic especially with a sudden, unexpected decrease of incomes or increase of expenditures. The current financial crisis...

Household over-indebtedness is among the causes of the current financial crisis. In turn, the crisis exacerbated both public and private debt problems. In this paper, household over-indebtedness is broadly defined as the situation where a household cannot comply with payment requirements –...

This study aims at evaluating the achievements of the Commissions administrative reform objectives presented in the 2000 White Paper, concerning the introduction of tools for the definition of priorities, and a better allocation and use of resources (ABM). It addresses the three main following...

This manual provides a detailed insight into the sources and methods used by countries to compile the data on quarterly financial accounts for general government. It presents the information in a structured way so that cross-country comparisons can be made. The manual will be updated in the...

Within a two-step GARCH framework we explore the linkages between equity returns of ten sectors in the euro area, the United States and Japan, respectively. Our estimation framework allows a distinction to be made between spillover effects originating from one of the three currency areas and...